By CHRIS POWELL At least President Biden has some sense of his high office, knows how to behave in public, and unlike his predecessor, Donald Trump, is not likely to become a cosmic embarrassment on account of his demeanor. No,…
Posted: 25 January 2021 [05:14 PM] Posted: 19 January 2021 [07:33 PM] By CHRIS POWELL As he skips the inauguration of his successor and shuffles off to his resort in Florida, has Donald Trump destroyed the Republican Party? Some political observers think so and of course Democrats hope so. Trump's petulant and…
Posted: 18 January 2021 [08:46 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Last week this column examined the government pension racket in Connecticut through the example of the "retirement" of New Haven Police Chief Tony Reyes, who is only 49 and is giving up his city salary of $170,000…
Posted: 13 January 2021 [08:49 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Everyone agrees that Tony Reyes has been a great police chief in New Haven, having been appointed in March 2019 after nearly two decades of rising through the ranks of the police department. But the city will…
Posted: 11 January 2021 [04:31 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Does any state do more posturing against racism than Connecticut does only to get such meager results? A week ago West Haven's City Council joined the 19 other municipalities in the state that have declared racism a…
Posted: 06 January 2021 [08:47 PM] By CHRIS POWELL When Bob Stefanowski was the Republican nominee for governor two years ago, he was mocked by Democrats for being light on the issues - for advocating repeal of the state income tax without specifying how to reduce…
Posted: 04 January 2021 [08:55 PM] By CHRIS POWELL After a cowardly absence of nine months, the General Assembly reconvenes this week. Though legislators may not recognize it, the first question facing them is whether their new session is to be one of substance or merely…
Posted: 01 January 2021 [08:52 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Employees of Connecticut's largest newspaper, the Hartford Courant, cleaned out their desks the other day as the newspaper left the building at 285 Broad St. where it had operated for 70 years. It was well reported that…
Posted: 30 December 2020 [08:38 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Many in Connecticut, including most of its news organizations, are gushing about President-elect Joe Biden's choice of state Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, a Meriden native, to be secretary of the U.S. Education Department. News reports say the…
Posted: 23 December 2020 [08:53 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Frank Capra's 1946 film, "It's a Wonderful Life," to be broadcast again tonight at 8 by NBC television, is loved most for its personal message of discovery at Christmas: that its hero's life has been, unbeknownst to…
Posted: 22 December 2020 [07:44 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Legions of the politically correct are insisting that President-elect Joe Biden's wife, Jill, be given the honorific title "Doctor" because she holds a doctorate degree in education, which she received largely on the basis of a mediocre…
Posted: 21 December 2020 [08:43 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Government in Connecticut is often mediocre but it usually excels at clearing the roads during and after a snowstorm like last week's. Maybe this is because while some failures are easily overlooked or concealed, there is no…
Posted: 20 December 2020 [08:14 PM] By CHRIS POWELL While the master state government employee union contract's ban on layoffs expires next July, no serious changes in personnel management that might favor the public can be expected. There are two reasons for this. First, the remainder…
Posted: 16 December 2020 [06:57 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Back when children attended school in Connecticut, before administration was forfeited to the teacher unions, and the kids had their first lessons about government, they were taught the division of responsibility. That is, the federal government is…
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Posted: 14 December 2020 [08:15 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Now that the Democratic majorities in the General Assembly are increasing as a result of last month's election, visions of sugarplums dance again in the heads of those who think that "property tax reform" and spending more…
Posted: 11 December 2020 [08:46 PM] By CHRIS POWELL As was inscribed on the pedestal of the statue of college founder Emil Faber in the movie "Animal House," "Knowledge is good." But knowledge can be overpriced, as the growing clamor about college student loan forgiveness soon…
Posted: 09 December 2020 [08:27 PM] By CHRIS POWELL America's oldest continuously published newspaper is now the country's newest paper without an office of its own. The Hartford Courant announced last week that it is terminating its lease on the building it has occupied for 70…
Posted: 07 December 2020 [09:01 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Having been there, done that, and gotten a T-shirt reading "My Party Abandoned Me," Governor Lamont seems to have given up on imposing tolls on Connecticut highways to fortify the state's transportation infrastructure. But having just increased…
Posted: 06 December 2020 [07:56 PM] By CHRIS POWELL While Governor Lamont remarked the other day that state government doesn't have enough money to rescue every business suffering from the virus epidemic and the curtailment of commerce, most people think the federal government has infinite money…
Posted: 30 November 2020 [08:47 PM] By CHRIS POWELL With Connecticut sure to struggle with the virus epidemic for many more months and state government sinking deeper into the financial disaster caused by the epidemic and government's response to it, it is amazing that the most…
Posted: 27 November 2020 [08:41 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Many people want to get out of Hartford, just as many people already have gotten out, the city having lost a third of its population since 1950. The problem for the people who still want to get…
Posted: 25 November 2020 [08:02 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Amid the growing panic fanned by news organizations about the rebound in the virus epidemic, last week's telling details were largely overlooked. First, most of the recent "virus-associated" deaths in Connecticut again have been those of frail…
Mayor's Column: Important for us to stay safe during the holidays Posted: 24 November 2020 [09:28 PM] With the holidays approaching, it is important to remember that while the sound of joy and the smell of snow might be…
Posted: 23 November 2020 [08:00 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Not so long ago censoriousness was a phenomenon of the political right. Mere liberals were called communists and spies and drummed out of their jobs. The political right sought to ban books and writers as subversive or…
Posted: 22 November 2020 [09:15 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Maybe it will turn out to be only a fluke, but amid the renewed panic about the virus epidemic there is some interesting detail in the monthly death statistics of the state Department of Public Health. In…
Posted: 18 November 2020 [04:39 PM] By CHRIS POWELL His handling of the virus epidemic has doubled Governor Lamont's public approval rating, giving him more fans than detractors. But judging from recent developments that are being overshadowed by the epidemic, the governor could be forgiven if…
Posted: 16 November 2020 [08:36 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Many teachers around the country are cheering the forthcoming change in national administration because Betsy DeVos will be replaced as secretary of the U.S. Education Department. DeVos, an heiress and philanthropist, has been a fan of charter…
Posted: 12 November 2020 [08:13 PM] By CHRIS POWELL After the supposedly slow response by Eversource Energy and United Illuminating to the widespread electricity outages in Connecticut caused by the tropical storm in August, there were calls for state government to take over the electricity distribution…
Posted: 10 November 2020 [04:29 PM] By CHRIS POWELL After warning that the U.S. Postal Service might sabotage the vast increase in voting by mail for last week's national election, leading Democrats in Connecticut are renewing their calls for allowing everyone to vote by mail just…
Posted: 08 November 2020 [07:36 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Everybody in Connecticut is tired of the virus epidemic, and no one is more entitled to be tired of it than Governor Lamont. It has devastated the finances of state government, commandeered its management, crippled education at…
Posted: 03 November 2020 [09:01 PM] By CHRIS POWELL When he was inaugurated as president of the University of Connecticut a year ago, Thomas C. Katsouleas made a grand gesture. He said that henceforth the university would waive tuition for new students from families with annual…
Posted: 02 November 2020 [07:51 PM] By CHRIS POWELL For four years any disparaging story about President Trump has been touted by national news organizations even if its source was anonymous. Of course given his business record and character it is easy to believe almost any…
Posted: 01 November 2020 [07:52 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Sailing against a heavy political wind, Republican candidates for the General Assembly have been heartened by the vigorous endorsements they are getting from police unions, which this year have broken away from the government employee union apparatus…
Posted: 29 October 2020 [09:11 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Every day Governor Lamont conscientiously reports the "positivity rate" of coronavirus tests administered in Connecticut, and news organizations report it as if the state's fate hangs on the data. Lately the "positivity rate," the percentage of tests…
Posted: 29 October 2020 [09:07 PM] By ROBERT A. SCALISE, JR. In Connecticut, the Probate Courts handle a variety of matters including guardianships, emancipation and adoption of children, conservatorships, mental health commitments and guardianships of persons with intellectual disabilities. However, when most people think of “Probate”…
Posted: 29 October 2020 [09:05 PM] By SEEMA VERMA Medicare’s annual Open Enrollment season is underway, and I want to encourage all people with Medicare to review their current health and prescription drug coverage. Under President Trump’s leadership, Medicare Advantage Plan premiums have fallen to historic…
Posted: 26 October 2020 [08:53 PM] By CHRIS POWELL Should every Republican on the party's ticket with President Trump this year be defeated if he won't denounce or at least criticize the president for his demeanor, policies or both? That's the suggestion of New London Day…
Posted: 25 October 2020 [08:35 PM] Jimmy Buffett once sang, "We all got 'em, we all want 'em. What do we do with 'em?" Although he was talking about relationships, the same could be said about goals. Many people have goals, and many people want…
MAYOR'S COLUMN: Here's some changes you'll see as you get ready to vote Posted: 20 October 2020 [08:55 PM] The coronavirus has impacted every facet of our everyday lives and this year’s November elections are no different. I am going to…
Re-returning to school: How to best support our children, families,teachers Posted: 30 September 2020 [08:44 PM] By CHRISTOPHER MARINO Never have our children, families or teachers prepared themselves for such a school year - only to then face…
Posted: 25 September 2020 [07:51 PM] Several weeks ago, the youth of America, enraged by the police murder of George Floyd, burst into the streets to protest racism in all its forms. One of the targets has been statues of racists which disgrace our public spaces.…
MAYOR'S COLUMN: Connectivity is key to building our community Posted: 07 September 2020 [08:20 PM] By ERIN STEWART Connectivity is key to building our community! I am very excited to announce that through a coordinated effort between…
MAYOR'S COLUMN: Summer is not over in New Britain Posted: 26 July 2020 [08:10 PM] By ERIN STEWART Say it loud and say it proud! Summer 2020 is NOT canceled in New Britain! I am happy to…
Posted: 03 July 2020 [03:07 PM] The woman’s suffrage movement was in full swing when the Great Flu of 1918 hit. They decided to have their annual convention anyway. They allowed only delegates, and spaced the chairs four feet apart, but they caught a lot…
Posted: 15 April 2020 [08:22 PM] Most of us have never experienced anything like the current COVID-19 pandemic in our lifetimes. The closest analogy many people think of in connection with the pandemic is that of a war. Indeed, a number of individuals have likened it…
Posted: 13 March 2020 [07:53 PM] We could use some Irish wit and wisdom right now. Here’s a good start: “You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” That’s a lesson well-taught by the many Irish immigrants, including my great-grandfather, who boldly…
Posted: 06 March 2020 [08:02 PM] For months, establishment and center-left Democrats faced a seemingly intractable problem. Moderate and establishment-friendly candidates were staying in the race, each hoping for the opportunity to try to beat Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a one-on-one primary fight. But by…
Posted: 06 March 2020 [08:01 PM] For almost a year, politicians in Washington have talked about the need to fix the problem of surprise medical billing. But, per usual, they haven’t done anything about it. It shouldn’t be this hard. To review: the bidding -…
Posted: 01 March 2020 [08:26 PM] Since early January, our Board of Finance and Taxation has been meeting to hear from department heads about their budget requests for the 2020-21 fiscal year. I, too, have met several times with my Finance Department budget team to forecast…
